Birmingham School of Law: Information about the Law School?

[mika]

Does anyone have any information about the law school, like how is the student life, and places to stay. I am trying to find a nice clean area, and just would like to know how the student body is. Also what about the teachers?

[Jolboromymn]

I attend Birmingham School of Law in Alabama. It is non-ABA. Birmingham School of Law does a good job of getting older students like me through law school.

The disadvantage is that Birmingham School of Law grads are pretty much limited to practicing within the state until they have practices long enough to meet the requirements for other states. Students are able to sit for the Alabama bar exam. It all comes down to getting out what you put in.

[mika]

Thanks I am really looking forward to moving down there and I have talk with the Maryland State bar and they told me I may sit for their bar after I pass Alabama State bar; How are the students there. I hear most law students are not much fun the first year.

[Hicsoalia]

I found this great article on Birmingham Law School for you:

Law school is known for being time consuming and expensive, but with a program accessible even to full-time professionals, Birmingham School of Law is striving to challenge those notions.

For 91 years, businesspeople from across the state have used the school as a way to enhance their skills and earn a juris doctorate and the opportunity to practice law in Alabama.

Current students and faculty said Birmingham School of Law's nighttime classes have enabled busy professionals to balance their jobs and family lives while furthering their education.

That's the case for Michael Lasseter, who had a 20-year career in the transportation industry before his employer went bankrupt.

Lasseter always wanted to go to law school, but found in researching a number of schools that most were "tremendously expensive."

When he heard about Birmingham School of Law and its program, Lasseter said, he decided to make some sacrifices.

With a home and family in Geneva, Ala., he did not want to have an expensive apartment while paying for law school, especially since he would be traveling home on weekends.

So he found a large travel trailer in an RV park about 45 minutes outside of Birmingham. The property managers let him exchange rent for help on the property.

During the week, he works as an administrative assistant and interns with the district attorney's office in his home county.

"It's a great way to get trial experience," Lasseter said.

Although Birmingham School of Law is a night school, it operates year round, enabling students to graduate in the same amount of time as those at most other law schools. About 450 students start their legal training at Birmingham School of Law during any of three semesters.

Some students come to earn law degrees, others to enhance their legal skills.

Students have included FBI agents, legal clerks, investigators and others who already are employed in the legal field.

Professors at the school are all practicing attorneys or judges, giving students valuable insight into the legal profession as practiced today.

"I think the advantage is that you can teach the black-letter law and the abstract ideas," said Richard Theibert of Najjar Denaburd PC. "But you can let them understand it from your own practical ideas and experiences."

Several graduates of the school eventually have come back to teach, including Judge Virginia Vinson of the 10th Judicial Circuit.

"I think it's very fulfilling to be able to shape and mold minds," Vinson said. "The real satisfaction is seeing the students who are now out practicing law. A lot of my students are now practicing in front of me and, again, that is very satisfying."

Birmingham School of Law Dean Ginger Tomlin also received her degree from the school and later taught classes there.

While pursuing a master of laws degree in Europe, Tomlin said, she realized her fondness for Birmingham School of Law.

"I discovered while I was gone what I really wanted to do, and that was to work again with Birmingham School of Law," Tomlin said. "It was the only job where I felt completely fulfilled."

The school has been around since 1915 and recently expanded the services it provides to students. The school now has its own law library, recently tightened its academic standards and now provides Bar review courses.

Eventually, the school plans to move from the historic Frank Nelson Building downtown to a newer facility.

Although it has not earned American Bar Association accreditation, Tomlin said the education offered at Birmingham School of Law is sound.

"Unfortunately for law schools, there's only one accrediting agency, and that accrediting agency ... has its own set of rules," the dean said, "and those rules really have very little to do with the quality of the education program."

Some of the obstacles to accreditation, she said, include issues such as the school's total investment in its law library.

"Why do we have to put $10 million dollars in our library when everyone is carrying their law library around in her pocket?" Tomlin said, referring to Internet access cards for electronic databases.

Keith Norman, executive director of the Alabama State Bar, said the primary benefit of being an accredited law school is that graduates from accredited schools can take the bar exam in any state.

"If you don't graduate from an accredited school, that means you can't take it in another jurisdiction unless your school has a special relationship with the state."

Norman said accreditation is based on a number of factors, from size and scope of a school's library to the number of full-time faculty members and quality of facilities.

In terms of quality of education, Norman said programs of legal education are pretty standard across the board.

"For those people who are going to stay in the state and just want the education, (not being accredited) is probably not a big deal," Norman said. "If you want to go to law school and then go out of state and practice, then it would be an issue."

There are three accredited law schools in Alabama: the University of Alabama School of Law, Cumberland School of Law at Samford and Thomas Goode Jones School of Law at Faulkner University.

Lasseter, for one, doesn't seem overly concerned that Birmingham School of Law is not accredited. He will take the bar exam next spring, and he's confident his experiences at Birmingham School of Law have prepared him for his career.

"It's tough, very tough," he said. "This school is designed for people who are self-motivated and dedicated."

[mika]

Thanks that really help me alot, I feel a little more better now that I have some insight on the school.If you find anything else please post it for me and others.

[Ade]

Can someone please tell me schools that will give you admission into LLM after completing JD from Birmingham School of Law? Thanks.